innovation DAILY

Here we highlight selected innovation related articles from around the world on a daily basis. These articles related to innovation and funding for innovative companies, and best practices for innovation based economic development.

If any institution is equipped to handle questions of strategy, it is Harvard Business School, whose professors have coined so much of the strategic lexicon used in classrooms and boardrooms that it’s hard to discuss the topic without recourse to their concepts: Competitive advantage. Disruptive innovation. The value chain.

Wisconsin's new intrastate equity crowdfunding exemption officially take effect June 1, but questions and cautions abound. Here's a roundup of need-to-know details for investors, entrepreneurs and curious parties. First, the background: find a great primer from the bill's initial proposal here, including a helpful comparison of Wisconsin vs. federal proposals. The short version is that this amends Wisconsin's securities law to allow for online crowdfunding (think Kickstarter, Indiegogo and their ilk).

We don’t like to dwell too much on the decline of print media, because quite frankly it’s depressing. But every now and then a statistic or chart comes along that sums up the wrenching transformation that is going on in the newspaper business, and we’ve had two pop up recently that are worth noting. Both are aimed at the same fundamental issue: namely, the fact that the decline in print-advertising revenue — which has been in free-fall for years now — is not stopping, or even slowing down, any time soon. If anything, it is likely to accelerate.

To advertisers, there is only one knock on the Science 2.0 audience; there are too many women.

Before we complain about the sexism of advertisers, we have to take the issue on its merits. When we think of technological innovation, we think of men. Is it because it's always been men due to a legacy culture or are men actually more innovative? Fashion designers don't advertise here because science is not their audience and technology companies don't advertise here because women are not their audience, yet we know women adopt technology.

That person whose face you can't place? He or she may just look like that donut you just ate.

A new photo series, Donut Double, pairs six people with donuts that look remarkably like them. For the National Restaurant Association’s annual food show, photographer Brandon Voges and ad agency The Marlin Network collaborated with Strange Donuts to create this human-donuts lookalike series.

Image: http://www.fastcodesign.com/ - That person whose face you can't place? He or she may just look like that donut you just ate.

WE ALL WISH THERE WERE MORE HOURS IN THE DAY. START USING THE TIME YOU HAVE MORE WISELY AND SEE HOW MUCH YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH IN LESS TIME.

In Gothenburg, Sweden, recently, officials proposed an experiment: Some chunk of government workers--now working seven-hour days--would cut their schedules to six hours. Would they be just as productive as their seven-hour colleagues if they left a little earlier?

As of 2009, the majority of people across the globe lives in cities and by 2050 that share is expected to reach 70%. In mature and emerging economies alike, cities are the engines of the global economy—in 2011, just the 300 largest metro areas accounted for 48% of total global output.

Everyone agrees that the governments should become platforms for the services they provide to citizens--so why is that so hard? Here’s how one company is trying to fix Washington's digital disasters--and what still needs to be done.

Google's YouTube is said to be finalizing a $1 billion acquisition of Twitch, making the San Francisco-based video game streaming service another start-up success story. But just as when Facebook purchased WhatsApp earlier for $16 billion, there will be both celebration and hand-wringing.

The University of Maryland at College Park has a new Ferrari of a supercomputer, and it’s students who are taking it for a test drive.

Some 60 students enrolled in the university’s high-performance-computing boot camp, now in its second of two weeks, are the first to make use of Deepthought2, the newest supercomputer in higher education. The $4.2-million machine has a processing speed of about 300 teraflops, meaning it can complete up to 300 trillion operations per second, and it has a petabyte of storage. It is the equivalent of 10,000 laptops working together simultaneously, university officials say.

Image: Staff members put the finishing touches on Deepthought2, a new supercomputer at the U. of Maryland. (Photo courtesy of U. of Maryland)

Becoming a successful entrepreneur takes more than a great idea and important connections (although both do help). Making the shift from the steady life of a full-time employee to the unpredictable world of entrepreneurship requires a shift in mindset that many overlook. In fact, some of the work habits you so carefully honed as a good employee don’t necessarily translate well into the world of an entrepreneur.

Having a great mentor can do wonders for your professional development and career. But even the best mentoring relationships can run their course or become ineffective. How do you know when it’s time to move on? And what’s the best way to end the relationship without burning bridges?

The 10-year performance metric for venture capital funds increased in the last quarter of 2013, beating out returns for several public exchanges with the help of a strong exit market. For the 10 years ending Dec. 31, venture returns increased to 9.7%, according to the National Venture Capital Association , using data compiled by Cambridge Associates.

The rise in venture capital funding in 2013 is proving that the industry still has legs despite hitting a post-recession trough in 2009. Venture capitalists invested $29.4 billion in 3,995 deals in 2013, an increase of 7 percent in dollars and a 4 percent increase in deals over the prior year, according to the PwC/NVCA MoneyTree™ Report.

A new data visualization project from Data Driven Detroit, a nonprofit initiative focused on making information about the Detroit area accessible, now provides a broad look at the conditions of cities across America.

When it comes to workers rights, the U.S. scores shockingly low compared to other countries. Right on par with Iraq, Haiti, and Iran. The best countries? Mostly just where you'd expect.

It's no surprise Norway and Denmark get top marks in a global ranking of workers rights. These countries have long labor traditions, as well as laws and enforcement to back up their principles. Likewise, it's no surprise that Qatar comes low in the ranking, where hundreds of workers are dying building stadiums for the 2022 World Cup.

That’s how it works, right? Not always. I’ve developed a somewhat different, streamlined approach. My method compresses the time it takes to raise money and lowers the transaction costs by a considerable degree.

Looking to Mötley Crüe for advice about business might sound a little like asking Warren Buffett for tips on headbanging. Are there really lessons to be learned from the band who, in their 1980s heyday, were as well known for their over-the-top debauchery as for their music? “Looking from the outside,” says bassist and co-founder Nikki Sixx, “I totally understand why people would think there’s no way this band should even still be here.”

A decade after Google's legendary "20 percent time" first inspired copycats, and a year after the practice was declared "as good as dead," the nature of experimentation inside technology companies is changing, refining--maybe even growing up.

Two hundred square feet. It’s horrifyingly small, even by New York standards. But a new project called CityHome, by MIT Media Lab’s Changing Places group, can make it feel like you're living in an apartment three times as big.

Feeling trapped in your job–and wondering if you should take the leap into starting a business? Then it’s worth checking out a new Gallup poll of entrepreneurs. The survey asked if, given a chance to rewind their lives, the business owners would start their companies all over again.

It’s no joke! At least one small tech firm has already done this. Mighty Cast created the NEX Band. It’s a smart charm bracelet that allows you do everything from customize your social media interaction to play video games. And all this happens on a little band of technology you wear on your wrist.

Microsoft Ventures, Microsoft's startup investment arm, is to set up its first accelerator dedicated solely to companies in the cybersecurity area.

The four-month programme aims to provide startups with tools to succeed in business, from mentorship to help with development to marketing expertise. Companies that get through the program will have an opportunity to get $1m in funding, courtesy of Jerusalem Ventures Partners (JVP), which has partnered with Microsoft Ventures on the project.

The Finnish Ministry of Employment and the Economy and the Ministry of Finance recently published the results of a survey they conducted between 27 November and 20 December 2013 to explore the current status of crowdfunding in Finland and to obtain a broad perspective to support the policies to be adopted.With this research the Finnish Government wanted to assess the need to specify national-level regulation for equity crowdfunding and P2P lending particularly as concerns the efficient functioning of markets and investor protection.

When Anthony Foxx was sworn in as the U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary last summer, he said he would draw on "every ounce of innovation and creativity" to make the country's vast transportation system not only safe and efficient but also modernized.

When people ask me, “When is the right time to talk to VCs?” my answer is, “Yesterday.” Why? Because many entrepreneurs – especially first time entrepreneurs – never really feel “ready” to talk to VCs. “Everything has to be perfect… Results aren’t good enough yet… All ducks must be in a row.” Right? Wrong.

The Internet evolves quickly and its “state” changes a lot in a year. One big shift highlighted in Kleiner Perkins venture capitalist Mary Meeker’s annual report on online trends: four of the top 10 most popular Internet properties are now held by Chinese companies—up from just one a year ago.

A new report out Wednesday suggests that venture capital investment returns — especially very short and very long ones — might not be as gloomy as some previous reports have suggested.That may be especially true for early-stage VC investments.

The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) released numbers today showing that the last quarter of 2013 was another strong one for venture capital performance. Investments of almost all lengths studied showed larger returns than in the previous quarter, the report says.

If there is any agreement in Washington about transportation funding these days, it is that any new federal funding will be hard to come by. That's why Congress and transportation experts are exploring how best to attract and use private money to pay for infrastructure projects.

Image: Onlookers take photos of one of the first trucks to drive through the new Port of Miami Tunnel, which opened last week and was partially financed through a public-private partnership. AP/J Pat Carter

When do you pass the buck and when do you take the blame? New research shows most of us only cop to failures if they can’t be attributed to something – or someone – else. But when we dodge accountability, we prevent ourselves from learning.

In their recent HBS working paper, Christopher G. Myers, Bradley R. Staats, and Francesca Gino identify what they call an ambiguity of responsibility, which plays a powerful role in determining when you learn from failure and when you don’t.

In the wake of the Great Recession, local policymakers are working harder than ever to differentiate their areas as friendly to small businesses and economic development. As part of these efforts, billions of public dollars are spent every year to attract companies, big and small, through the use of venture capital, tax incentives, public-private partnerships, workforce training, capital improvements, and many other tools. As economic development has become more competitive, policymakers are offering more and more to attract jobs and new opportunities for their constituencies. Though it is clear that these financial incentives are producing results in some areas, there are other environmental factors that policymakers can improve to attract more new businesses.

Area Development analyzes economic and workforce data for 379 MSAs, producing a snapshot of the cities across America that are poised to capitalize on the new potential for economic growth as the United States leaves the recession behind. A diversified economic base tops the most desirable traits.

What if, instead of paying millions of dollars to export trash from cities to festering dumps in other parts of the country, we could export our garbage bags to virtual realities instead? And what if, instead of buying a new smartphone every few years before chucking it, we held onto indestructible ones for the duration of our lives?

Image: THE RECYCLING INQUISITION Instead of forklifts moving garbage, what if they tortured people who didn't recycle? That's one way to incentivize curbside recycling, according to one Mini Inquisitor. LATITUDEº / LATD.COM

YOUR TEAM MAY BE IN THE CLOUD BUT THEIR HEADS DON'T HAVE TO BE. GET CREATIVE ABOUT BUILDING BONDS, COMMUNICATING, AND FINDING WHAT WORKS.

BY LAURA VANDERKAM

Plenty of people work from home occasionally, and plenty of managers work with people in different offices. But what if no one is in the office? What if your entire company consists of people working wherever they want to work?

Incredibly, there are interest groups in the US who are taking advantage of a provision in Dodd-Frank to try to throttle angel investing.

For context, see VC Experts' Tuesday Newsletter.

Here's the money quote:

“'We appreciate the importance of regulation to protect investors from fraud, however regulations need to be focused in areas with a proven need for added oversight. The angel investment asset class has experienced very little fraud, because angel investors have strong processes for due diligence and investment terms, and ongoing entrepreneurial support,' said Marianne Hudson, ACA’s executive director.”

The technology industry has been fighting hard not to reveal race and gender diversity data — especially for its engineering teams — because it has a lot to be embarrassed about. Data collected on Github showed that the percentage of female engineers at Qualcomm’s development center in Austin was 5.5 percent. At Dropbox it’s 6.3 percent, at Yelp 8.3 percent, at Airbnb 13.2 percent and 14.4 percent at Pinterest. Google just revealed that 17 percent of its technology staff is female. That is impressive compared with the rest of Silicon Valley, but not once you put it in the context of the available pool of female computer scientists.

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